HomeMy WebLinkAbout00-988 OrphansIN RE:
ESTATE OF
MARJORIE F.
GOOSSENS
IN THE COURT OF COMMON
PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND
COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
ORPHANS' COURT DIVISION
ESTATE NO. 21-00-988
IN RE: PETITION FOR CY PRES DOCTRINE
HOFFER, P.J.
Marjorie F. Goossens (hereinafter "Decedent") died on October 18,
2000, leaving a Last Will and Testament and Revocable Deed of Trust. In
this will Decedent devised and bequeathed twenty-five percent of the
residue of her estate to the "Perry County Medical Center." No entity
entitled "Perry County Medical Center" exists now, or has ever existed, in
Perry County, Pennsylvania. Without evidence of the existence of such an
entity, an issue has arisen as to what is the object of her bequest.
The Estate filed its Petition for Application of Cy Pres Doctrine in
Accordance with 20 Pa. C.S.A. § 6110. In response to this Petition the
Court held a hearing. At the hearing, the Court accepted limited testimony
from Mr. Dale Beaston and Ms. Mary Elizabeth Clever on behalf of the
Carlisle Area Health and Wellness Foundation, (hereinafter "CAHWF"), for
the purpose of determining whether the "Perry County Medical Center"
ever existed. Present at the hearing were the Attorney General for the
Commonwealth, attorneys for the Goossens Estate, attorneys for CAHWF,
attorneys for the Greater Harrisburg Foundation and Perry County
Community Foundation, and attorneys for Holy Spirit Health System and
three of its nonprofit subsidiaries. All three of these last mentioned parties
want to make a claim on this money. Each representative present at the
hearing filed a post-hearing brief in support of its position.
FACTS
The decedent died on October 18, 2000, leaving a Last Will and
Testament and Revocable Deed of Trust. This will was executed on July
6, 1992. The will indicates the residence of the testatrix to be in
Landisburg, Perry County, Pennsylvania. In the will Decedent devised and
bequeathed a portion of her estate, in trust, to the Perry County Historical
Society in Landisburg for the maintenance and upkeep of the property
which she had conveyed to the Society in her lifetime.~ In addition,
Decedent bequeathed twenty-five percent of the residue of her estate to
the "Perry County Medical Center.''2
At the hearing before the Court, Dale Beaston testified that he knew
of no entity in Perry County entitled Perry County Medical Center, nor of
any entity ever in existence with such a title. (Notes of Testimony 25, 34-
~ Will of Goossens, at ¶ 4(a). Decedent also bequeathed in paragraph 3,
"her piano, the Tristan score and Goossens Baton to the Perry County
Historical Society, of Newport, Pennsylvania." Id. at ¶ 3.
2 Id. at ¶ 4(b).
2
35, Hearing, July 29, 2002 (hereinafter N.T. ). Mr. Beaston was born
and raised in western Perry County. Since his retirement from federal
service employment and the military in 1986, Mr. Beaston has been
actively volunteering in western Perry County. He has gained extensive
knowledge of the community through his charitable positions as an active
fireman, borough councilman in New Bloomfield, member of the Planning
Commission, President of the community pool association, and member of
both the local and district Lions organizations. (N.T. 16-18).
Mr. Beaston did testify that there is an entity in Perry County known
as the Perry Health Center (hereinafter "PHC"). In fact, Mr. Beaston
himself was instrumental in raising the funds and ensuring the formation of
PHC in 1973. PHC is a nonprofit, charitable corporation which was
incorporated in Pennsylvania in 1973. Mr. Beaston began serving on the
PHC Board in 1979, and has been chairman since 1980.
In 1973, PHC acquired a building and established a center in
Loysville, Pennsylvania, for the provision of medical services to the
residents of western Perry County. In 1980, Carlisle Hospital and Health
Services (hereinafter "CHHS") affiliated itself with PHC by way of financial
contributions. PHC became a controlled entity or subsidiary of CHHS in
1990, and from that time on CHHS contributed financial support for the
renovations and expansion of PHC. Through this affiliation, CHHS has
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invested between $2 and $2.5 million in PHC. According to Mr. Beaston's
testimony, that amount has not been repaid by PHC.
In 2001, the Board of PHC elected to sell its building and other
assets located in Loysville, western Perry County, to Health Management
Associates (hereinafter "HMA"). At the time of this sale CHHS also elected
to sell its hospital assets to HMA. In connection with that sale, CHHS
changed its name to Carlisle Area Health and Wellness Foundation
(aforementioned "CAHWF"). CAHWF now exists as a grant making
organization.3
The entity PHC continues to exist as a nonprofit corporation. Even
though PHC does not currently engage in charitable activities, the PHC
Board meets and advises the Board of Trustees of CAHWF on health care,
funding, and policy issues concerning western Perry County.'~ Speaking
on behalf of the PHC Board at the hearing, Mr. Beaston indicated that the
PHC Board would like CAHWF to receive Decedent's bequest because it
3 CAHWF qualifies as an exempt charitable organization under Section
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, listing exempt entities, in part, as,
"[c]orporations, and any community chest, fund, or foundation, organized
and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, testing for
public safety, literary, or educational purposes..." I.R.C. § 501(c)(3).
4 PHC does deliver medical services to western Perry County through a
group of independent physicians, a for-profit organization. N.T. 27. (Mr.
Beaston did not identify this for-profit organization at the hearing.)
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feels that CAHWF is in the best position to provide services to the people
of western Perry County.
In addition to accepting Mr. Beaston's testimony, at the hearing the
Court accepted limited testimony from CAHWF Executive Director Mary
Elizabeth Clever, who spoke on behalf of CAHWF in regards to its position
on how the bequeathed funds would be administered. Since its inception,
CAHWF has maintained both CHHS and PHC's mission of ensuring the
provision of health care benefits to western Perry County residents through
its working relationship with the PHC Board. The Board examines the
activities, funding, strategies, and policies of CAHWF in order to guarantee
the disbursement of health care benefits to western Perry County
residents.
CAHWF covers several areas outside of Perry County, including
central and western Cumberland County, Franklin County, and upper
Adams County. Currently, the CAHWF Board determines which areas
receive any incoming funds. Therefore, without a limitation, every service
area would benefit from the decedent's bequest. Ms. Clever did indicate,
though, that CAHWF does have the ability to segregate funds to benefit a
specific area such as western Perry County through board and grant
making committee oversight.5
5 At the July 29, 2002, hearing before the Court, Ms. Clever indicated that
CAHWF already performs such segregations with other trusts, such as the
5
DISCUSSION
The decedent's will includes a bequest to an entity that has never
existed, the Perry County Medical Center. However, when the will was
executed in 1992, the Perry Health Center did exist, and, in fact, was the
only such entity with a similar name and purpose in the area at the time.
Generally, courts should first examine the language of the
instrument alone, in determining the intended beneficiary. Estate of Kay,
456 Pa. 43, 46, 317 A.2d 193, 195 (1974)(citing Berks County
Tuberculosis Society Appeal, 418 Pa. 112,208 A.2d 857 (1965)).
However, in a case where an ambiguity exists as to the identity of the
intended beneficiary, the Court may accept extrinsic evidence to aid in
establishing the correct identity of the beneficiary. Id. (citing Black Estate,
398 Pa. 390, 158 A.2d 133 (1960)). In addition, there is a standard by
which courts determine intended beneficiaries of gifts for charitable use.
Where a testamentary intent to make a gift to a religious,
charitable, literary or scientific use is clear, the gift will not be
allowed to fail by reason of the object or the beneficiary being
indefinite or uncertain, if the intended object or beneficiary can
be ascertained with reasonable certainty.
Sadler Trust. The Sadler Trust was originally established for the benefit of
Carlisle Hospital, but as the Carlisle Hospital organization grew and the
scope of its services changed geographically, the funds from the Trust
were applied to the resulting service area. Essentially, the Sadler Trust
grew with the Carlisle Hospital.
6
Black Estate, 398 Pa. 390, 158 A.2d 133 (1960) (emphasis added). In the
case at hand, because the will indicates a bequest to an entity that has
never existed, the Court is permitted to receive extrinsic evidence in order
to establish with reasonable certainty the correct identity of the intended
beneficiary.
In the present case, the words the decedent used in the will, in
conjunction with extrinsic evidence, describe the characteristics of the
intended beneficiary. First, the decedent indicated she was of Landisburg,
Pennsylvania. PHC is located in Loysville, Pennsylvania, approximately
three miles from Landisburg.6 This close proximity combined with the label
"Perry County" attached to the named entity indicates that the decedent
intended the bequest be made to an entity within Perry County.7 In fact,
6 E.g., Pennsylvania Spatial Data Access System, Pennsylvania Atlas
(showing, on map produced in conjunction with agencies of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, that Landisburg and Loysville are within
this 3 mile distance), at
http://gisl, pasda, psu.ed u/Website/PA_Atlas/viewer, htm?Title=Pennsylvani
a%20Atlas (last visited February 25, 2003); see also Driving Directions, at
http://www.mapquest.com/directions (indicating, on map produced by
internet source, that the driving distance between the two locations is 2.94
miles); see also Pa. R.E. 201 (providing that the court may take judicial
notice of a fact "capable of accurate and ready determination by resort to
sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned").
7 In its Brief in Response to the Court's August 19, 2002 Order, filed
September 16, 2002, the Commonwealth posited that the bequest should
be made to an entity within Perry County, and not a general bequest. A
general bequest, the Commonwealth asserted, "would render the words
'Perry County' mere surplusage and nugatory and would frustrate the clear
intent of the donor to benefit Perry County." Commonwealth's Brief in
7
the will itself makes repeated references to Perry County, either through
the named entity in dispute or the Perry County Historical Society.
In addition, the decedent characterized the function of the entity as a
"medical center." At the time of the writing of the will in 1992, PHC was
directly performing medical services in western Perry County. Therefore,
PHC could easily qualify with reasonable certainty as an entity that could in
fact be mistaken for a "medical center" rather than a "health center."
Beyond this determination, courts have used the doctrine of cy pres
to make an approximation as to the intended beneficiary of a testator's
charitable bequest. "The application of the doctrine of cy pres should
effectuate the intent of the testator as nearly as humanly possible." Estate
of Kay, 456 Pa. at 52,317 A.2d at 198.
the cy pres doctrine states, in part
if the charitable purpose for which
Pennsylvania's codified version of
an interest shall be
conveyed outright or in a testamentary or inter vivos trust shall
be or become indefinite or impossible or impractical of
fulfillment, ... or because of the failure of a trustee to designate
such purpose, the court may ... order an administration or
distribution of the interest for such a charitable purpose in a
manner as nearly as possible to fulfill the intention of the
conveyor, whether his charitable intent be general or specific.
20 Pa. C.S.A. § 6110(a).
In applying the doctrine of cy pres in this case to determine whether
the charitable purpose has become "indefinite", the question narrows again
Response to the Court's August 19, 2002 Order at 3, In re Goossens,
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to which entity the decedent intended as the recipient of her bequest.
Perry County Medical Center did not exist at the time of the writing of the
will, nor has it ever existed. Perry Health Center, located in Loysville, did
exist at the time of the writing and signing of the will. It was also the only
entity of a similar name to perform medical services in western Perry
County. It is therefore probable that the intended entity was misnamed by
the scrivener of the will. In examining whether the intended entity was
simply misstated in the will, courts do acknowledge imprecise drafting of
bequests to charitable corporations or entities.
Misnomer is especially frequent in devises to a corporation;
usually to a charitable corporation. The real names of such
corporations are often never known by people generally; and
many testators do not feel the need, in preparing a will, of
getting the real name of the proposed beneficiary. Where a
corporation is given an erroneous name in a will such a
mistake will not avoid the gift if it is possible by means of the
name used, or by admissible extrinsic evidence, to identify the
corporation intended as beneficiary with sufficient certainty.
Black Estate, 398 Pa. at 393, 158 A.2d at 134 (quoting Lockwood's Estate,
344 Pa. 293, 296, 25 A.2d 168, 169 (1942)). In Black Estate, the testatrix
bequeathed a portion of her estate to the Board of Christian Education
First Presbyterian Church - N.Y., but there was no organization that
exactly fit that designation or description. The auditor had awarded the
sum to the Christian Education Committee of the First Presbyterian Church
of New York [City]. This Committee did not have the authority, though, to
Estate No. 21-00-988.
9
properly administer funds independently of the Church. The court
determined that this lack of authority did not fulfill the intent of the testatrix.
By examining the will itself and extrinsic evidence such as the testatrix's
history and common names for similar organizations, the court determined
that the intended beneficiary was in fact the Board of Christian Education
of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America. The name
and purpose and function of the entity itself most closely fulfilled the intent
of the testatrix.
In the present case, PHC, as it functions today, still fulfills the intent
of the decedent. Although PHC serves mainly as a grant-making
organization, its functions exist to provide medical services to the residents
of western Perry County. The testimony at the hearing before the court
indicates that CAHWF, the parent organization of PHC, is capable of
administering the funds specifically for the benefit of those Perry County
residents.
CONCLUSION
For the reasons stated above, the Court directs the bequest be
made to CAHWF, and that CAHWF limit use of the bequest and proceeds
to health and medicine programs and services occurring in Perry County,
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in the townships and boroughs of Toboyne, Jackson, Madison, Saville,
Tyrone, Center, Carroll, Landisburg, New Bloomfield and Blain.8
8 Letter from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Office of Attorney
General of 8/19/02, at 1. The Commonwealth's letter additionally states,
[t]his result would follow whether or not the Court finds
ambiguity but distributes to Perry Health Center per the
wording of the will and trust, exclusive of cy pres. Such is our
position because the Court would have determined that the
intended beneficiary was Perry Health Center, which had an
area of service and this restriction would most closely reflect
that area of service.
Id.
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IN RE:
ESTATE OF
MARJORIE F.
GOOSSENS
: IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF
: CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
: ORPHANS' COURT DIVISION
: ESTATE NO. 21-00-988
IN RE: PETITION FOR CY PRES DOCTRINE
ORDER OF COURT
AND NOW, this day of , 2003, upon
consideration of the Goossens Estate's Petition for Application of Cy Pres
Doctrine in Accordance with 20 Pa. C.S.A. § 6110, it is hereby ORDERED
that the bequest to "Perry County Medical Center" in Marjorie F. Goossen's
Last Will and Testament and Revocable Deed of Trust, dated July 6, 1992,
be made to the Carlisle Area Health and Wellness Foundation, and that it
limit the use of the bequest and proceeds to health and medicine programs
and services occurring in Perry County, in the townships and boroughs of
Toboyne, Jackson, Madison, Saville,
New Bloomfield and Blain.
Tyrone, Center, Carroll, Landisburg,
By the Court,
George E. Hoffer,
P.J.
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Dennis Boyle, Esquire
Spencer G. Nauman, Esquire
Nauman, Smith, Shissler & Hall, LLP
200 N. 3rd Street, 18th Floor
P.O. Box 840
Harrisburg, PA 17108-0840
James D. Flower, Jr., Esquire
Saidis, Shuff, Flower & Lindsay
26 W. High Street
Carlisle, PA 17013
Michael T. Foerster, Esquire
Deputy Attorney General
Public Protection Division
Charitable Trusts & Organizations Section
14th Floor Strawberry Square
Harrisburg, PA 17120
David J. Lanza, Esquire
Johnson, Duffie, Stewart & Weidner
301 Market Street
P.O. Box 109
Lemoyne, PA 17043-0109
John C. Oszustowicz, Esquire
104 S. Hanover Street
Carlisle, PA 17013
Ivo V. Otto, III, Esquire
Martson Deardorff Williams & Otto
10 East High Street
Carlisle, PA 17013
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